49ers roster: 5 players who would be shocking adds in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers Tight End Josh Pederson
Staying on the UDFA theme here, another would-be shocking add to San Francisco’s 53-man roster would be rookie tight end Josh Pederson, a small-school prospect out of Louisiana-Monroe and the son of former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.
Josh Pederson doesn’t have an easy road to the regular-season group, of course. But while the 49ers’ tight end room is awfully top-heavy, particularly with All-Pro George Kittle helming the group, the remaining two or three spots are a bit more fluid.
No. 2 tight end Ross Dwelley is almost guaranteed a spot. But behind him, it’s a pretty open-ended question.
Pederson could sneak in by one of two ways. If the Niners elect to keep four tight ends, which head coach Kyle Shanahan has done before, the rookie’s chances increase dramatically.
Yet if there are only three tight ends on the 53-man roster, Pederson could theoretically beat out the two blocking tight ends ahead of him on the depth chart, MyCole Pruitt and Charlie Woerner, provided Pederson improves his own blocking technique in training camp and flashes some of that offensive potential that made San Francisco target him as a priority free agent in the first place.